Show us the money say Dragon-slayers

The contenders in television's Dragons' Den programme could be forgiven for using Tom Cruise's famous line - "show me the money".

After filming, millionaire publisher and dragon Barry Colman flew to Alaska for several weeks, so entrepreneur Angela Beer had to wait to get her promised $250,000.

While she appears to have done so now (she moves into an office next door to Colman next week), fellow Dragons' Den success stories Mark and Murray Jones are yet to see their promised cash.

Since filming, the Jones brothers, from Dannevirke and Masterton, are still to meet their new mentor and bank-roller, Sir Robert Jones.

Sir Robert promised the self-styled "country boys" $250,000 in exchange for a 30 per cent stake in their company, Hold'm. The business plans to sell millions of plant clips around the world to gardeners, horticulturists and viticulturists.

The investment cash has not yet been handed over as due diligence is still taking place. Due diligence is the process through which potential investors investigate the details of a venture.

The first meeting between Sir Robert and the brothers would take place in a few weeks, Mark Jones said.

"We haven't set anything in concrete. We've had to run our company as we see fit up until the time that Bob Jones puts his money in."

Fingers were crossed that the money would come in a lump sum, rather than being drip-fed over time.

The brothers had to pay for patents and trademark work, manufacturing costs and promotional material.

There is also that matter of the $130,000 to pay a new CEO. Queenstown businessman Jeff Mathews is on a two-month contract acting in that position.

Mark and Murray were holding on to their full-time jobs as, respectively, field agent for Williams and Kettle and farmer. But they had not been idle at weekends.

"When we have the meeting with Bob we don't want him to ask us, 'What have you been doing?' and for us reply, 'Nothing', " Mark said.

A supply contract with Foodstuffs in the lower North Island had been secured with the aim of selling 64,000 clips across 64 separate Pak 'N Save and New World supermarkets.

A packet of 10 clips sells for $4.90. If all 6400 packets were sold, the company would gross $31,360.

Before appearing on Dragons' Den, they were selling about six packets of clips a week in the Dannevirke New World. In the past week that had jumped to up to 15 packets a day, Mark said.

The other successful entrepreneur, Auckland marketing consultant Angela Beer, echoed comments by the Jones brothers that her product would have eventually succeeded with or without the Dragons' backing.

She admitted the TV appearance had helped, however. "It's been very surreal. I went on Dragons' Den to launch a brand, because I had run out of funds to actually take television advertising.

"So that [getting the brand on TV] was my number-one objective. And I'm in Woman's Day this week, too."

Hello Dolly sells home DIY tools to the female market, with bedroom sex products also on offer.

The deal was signed last week, with Ms Beer and Colman listed as directors of Hello Dolly.

Yesterday she relinquished her consulting contract, in which she has led a team of eight marketing and communications staff at Auckland University.

Dragon's Den screens on TV One at 8.30pm on Thursdays.

* Angela Beer led a team of eight marketing and communications staff at Auckland University, not 80 as reported in an earlier version of this story. The Herald was supplied with the incorrect information.